Chicago-based orchestral-pop sextet Canasta is gearing up for its first overseas tour as part of the US Arts Envoy Program. The government-sponsored initiative aims to engage with international audiences through live performances, workshops, and seminars in order to promote a “cross-cultural understanding and collaboration and to demonstrate shared values and aspirations.”
Canasta will take its Midwestern work ethic and “craftsman-like” approach to music to Mongolia this February from the 3rd to the 10th. The tour will begin and end in Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, with dates in Sainshand and Dalanzadgad in between. As for the band’s role in the Arts Envoy Program, violinist/vocalist Elizabeth Lindau says, “I hope we can inspire people to think about their musical heritage and perhaps new ways of combining instruments to create a sound that is unique to their country and culture.”
You can read more about Canasta’s upcoming Mongolian journey here, and check for official tour dates here.